Gualdim de Pais,

Useful Information

Portugal

Central Portugal

Tomar

UNESCO World Heritage

Accommodation in Tomar

Convento do Cristo in Tomar, Central Portugal

Gualdim de Pais was the fourth grand master of the Knights Templar and had a special affinity with Tomar in central Portugal.

Although the warrior knight was born and raised near the north Portugal town of Braga in 1118 and was educated at Coimbra, Tomar in central Portugal is his final resting place.

In 1160 he and his Templar Knights began construction of the now famous Castelo Templário and Convento do Cristo after the order was given land by Afonso Henriques, Portugal's first king.

Gualdim de Pais, sometimes referred to as Gualdim Pais, was the son of Paio Ramires and Gontrode Soares. He became a knight in 1139 following his heroic actions at the Battle of Ourique. It was 18 years and a long period of battles in the Holy land before he was ordained as the Fourth Master of the Knights Templar in 1157.

Only three years later Gualdim de Pais began the construction of the Castelo Templário and the Convento do Cristo in what is now know as Tomar. The Castle and Convento were to form a strategic line of defence against the advancing Moorish army.

During the construction of the Castle and Convento Gualdim de Pais oversaw the restoration and construction of several other castles within the region including Almourol and Pombal. It was in 1162 however the gave 'foral' an order of to establish the town of Tomar, free from feudal law.

In 1190, aged 72, Gualdim de Pais rallied his Knights Templar in the defence of the Castle and Convent when the caliph al-Mansur attacked with his Moorish army. The battle was bloody, but the strategic location of the Castle and the well thought out defences the Knights and their figurehead were undefeated.

However, such was the ferocity of the battle, one of the entrances to the Castle has been renamed o Porta de Sangue (the Blood Door).

Gualdim de Pais died in Tomar in 1195, aged 77 years. His body was interred in the church of Santa Maria do Olival in Tomar. The original tomb slab with a gothic inscription still remains today.

The statue of Gualdim de Pais in the Praça da República in the historic centre of Tomar, was erected in his honour by the council in the 20th century.